A method for operating a sensor system and a sensor system are discussed in DE 10 2009 029 021 A1 of the applicant. It includes at least one capacitive sensor element, whose field lines generated thereby change in the event of an approach of a body or object, the change being able to be detected and analyzed with the aid of a control unit. The known sensor system is used in particular in handling robots or similar machines or devices for the purpose of switching the handling device into a safety mode, in the case of which the movement of the affected machine component is stopped, in the event of approach of a human or an (unexpected) approach of an object to a moving machine part, for example, a robot arm. In particular, injuries in the event of a collision of the handling device with a human or damage to objects or the handling device may thus be avoided or at least minimized. The known sensor system may include a plurality of planar sensor elements, which are arranged over the entire surface of the handling device like a sensor skin, for example, and are connected to one another by circuitry.
Applications in which handling devices collaborate with humans in a shared workspace will become more and more important in the future. Such applications occur, for example, in product manufacturing, for example, in assembly, during welding or lacquering, in the field of so-called service robots (for example, for pick-up and delivery services), cleaning robots, inspection robots, in the field of autonomous vehicles in the environment of humans, in the field of medical robots, which work closely with humans (for example, for angiography and tumor treatment), or other applications. The collaboration capability of such machines is essentially based on two basic functions, safe movement in the environment of humans and intuitive interaction with humans.
With respect to the interaction capability, it is typically implemented using classical operating elements such as buttons, switches, keyboards, rotating and sliding controllers, joysticks, computer mice, and touch screens. Speech recognition systems are also known, which react to spoken commands, and also visual systems, which recognize the movements of an operator (for example, in the form of gestures). In addition, various interaction technologies are known for controlling robots, e.g., indirect operation via classical operating elements, or direct operation, in the case of which the operator displaces the robot arm using his hands (detection of the operator command by measuring the motor current via the drive regulation or by additional torque sensors in the joints of the robot arm).